Veronica's Christmas Wish
by Serena Thorn
Summary: After making a wish on a Christmas star, a lonely Veronica gets a second chance with someone she never thought she wanted a first chance with.


Title: Veronica's Christmas Wish  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: After making a wish on a Christmas star, a lonely Veronica gets a second chance with someone she never thought she wanted a first chance with.  
Spoilers: 3x14  
Characters/Pairing: Veronica/Lamb, Keith, mentions Lilly and Vinnie  
Word Count: 4137  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: AU post-series. Requested by Ellavee. I hope this is close to what you had in mind.

* * *

Walking down the streets of Neptune as Christmas quickly approached there was certainly no shortage of couples holding hands or busy parents losing sleep as they tried to buy those ever elusive, must-have gifts for their kids. She was pretty sure even her dad still had bruises from the Furbie days.

As for her, she had bought her gifts for her friends and father already, all to be opened whenever they each got back from their four corners of the country.

She had actually been good so far, no peeking at the gifts reserved for her under the tree back at the apartment, no hassling anyone to give her any hints as to what she was getting. So what if she pretty much knew what they were? It still counted since she wasn't trying to confirm her presumptions.

Finally as she continued on with her walk, she allowed herself a deep breath as she glanced up at the night sky. When she saw the stars hanging overhead, her thoughts focused on Lilly. Immediately she pictured her at some ski resort in Aspen and hitting on the first hot ski instructor she found. The bonus for Lilly of course being that she was already an expert skier.

Smiling at the image, wondering if they had cocoa in heaven or if they even needed it, she looked ahead again. This time her eyes focused on the big building across the street. Like every other streetlight, storefront and business, it was lit up and decorated in the spirit of the holiday.

_Lamb would've loved that,_ Veronica thought to herself with a half-scoff, half-chuckle. Neptune's favorite Grinch that time had seemed to forget. It hadn't even been a year and for those who had seen the inside of the department since, you wouldn't have known he had been there at all. Not since Vinnie took over and in pretty much every sense of the term.

Her hands deep in her coat pockets, Veronica rounded the corner and faced away from the station. In some ways Sheriff Van Lowe had been an improvement over Sheriff Lamb. Neptune was a little less corrupt, but he was still as ineffectual as ever unless it meant more press for him. She also wasn't being arrested or questioned every other week anymore.

And she missed it more than she ever thought she would.

No, she didn't much miss the feeling of Lamb closing his cuffs around her wrists or his snide remarks to her. But she did miss their banter sometimes. And she hadn't thought it was possible, but between Lamb and Vinnie, she would vote Lamb for sheriff any day. Even if she barely admitted it even to herself.

_Merry Christmas, Deputy,_ Veronica thought with another sigh when she looked up to the stars again. It really was enough to almost make her miss him.

Of course the immediate question that came from the back of her mind was, "Would you have missed Vinnie or Sacks if it had been them instead?"

She would have, she knew. But it wouldn't have been the same. She had known them all for about the same amount of time, more or less, sure. But she didn't owe them the payback she felt she owed Lamb. She had also considered Lamb to be her personal pain in the ass and just because Neptune life had become a little easier without him it didn't mean that it had become more interesting or even that much more enjoyable. Gone were the days she could appear at the station and hear that sigh and know she had the ability to irritate the sheriff with hardly any effort.

Reaching an intersection, waiting for the sign to change as she stood on the sidewalk, Veronica glanced above again. The stars seemed brighter tonight, like millions of little planes parked in the night sky. She hadn't believed in Christmas magic or Christmas stars really since she was a kid. But tonight she was almost curious enough to try it.

With a shake of her head in disbelief at herself, she just said, "Merry Christmas, Lamb. Wish you were still here."

Not surprisingly, nothing happened. Not even several seconds later. And Veronica wanted to kick herself for actually hoping that it could. She walked home without incident, actually relieved for the walk she had taken, made it to bed and fell into a somewhat contented sleep.

However when she awoke the next morning, nothing looked or felt quite right. Her pajamas were the same, her phone was in the same spot she had left it in as were her purse and clothes from the night before. But something still felt off.

"Hey! Hey! Who wants pancakes?" Keith called from the kitchen.

Okay, that was strange. He was in Arizona the last she knew. But maybe that was what was different. Maybe she had heard him come in early and had forgotten about it. Shrugging, she got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

"I thought that would get you out here," Keith smiled to her.

"When did you get back?" she asked before taking a seat at the counter.

"Back? From where?" He hadn't gone anywhere since the night before and even then that was just to run to the store. Veronica had still been watching her Christmas cartoons when he got back.

"Arizona. You had that bail jumper Vinnie sent you out to find," she reminded him.

Keith laughed. "You think I'd work with Vinnie on a case?"

"Yeah," she nodded. They had worked on a few, just that way, more than once since Vinnie had been elected sheriff. Sure Keith hadn't been thrilled about it, but it was work. And it was more than Lamb had typically let him do.

"Those must have been some dreams you had last night then. Here, have some breakfast on this oh so merry Christmas Eve," he said as he slid her pancakes onto a plate.

Dreams? No. It had been real. But then what did that make this? She glanced around. She didn't have that feeling she usually had in dreams and it all looked and felt real enough. She guessed she wouldn't know for sure unless she got dressed and headed outside.

And when she did, she couldn't believe what she saw. Every decoration that had been there for weeks and even the night before were there, every light, every ball, every tree. And then she remembered her father telling her that it was Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was yesterday. She knew because she remembered all the signs around town saying very definitely that they would be closed _tomorrow_ for Christmas.

Fortunately for Veronica, things feeling out of place wasn't an unusual experience for her. And even better, she was a girl who liked figuring out mysteries.

She decided on a walk, one that would retrace at least most of her steps from the night before. It was a little chilly, sure, but she had her jacket. She just didn't want to drive and possibly miss anything.

Of course she wondered if that wouldn't have been the better option when she realized, only when she saw the rolling red and blue lights coming her way, that she had just jaywalked.

_Well so much for the new sheriff not picking up on the old sheriff's tricks,_ she thought to herself as she watched the sheriff cruiser she knew well pull up to the curb.

"You miss me that much, Sheriff?" Veronica cooed as she tilted her head to catch Vinnie's eye.

Instead when the driver's side window came down, she saw the last face she ever expected. She didn't even have time to wonder what was going on, if she was in fact dreaming, or if she had finally snapped before he spoke.

"Jaywalking? Gotta say that's a new one for you. But it's still illegal all the same, Veronica," Lamb smirked to her. "Looks like my Christmas just came early."

A year ago she would have made a crack about him maybe needing to see a doctor for that. But today she just watched him climb out of the cruiser. His long legs, his lean body, his swagger, his face… Lord, she had missed his face. Unofficially, of course.

"You would try to arrest me on Christmas Eve, wouldn't you?" she asked, deciding that would be a better question then some variation of _"How are you not dead?"_ which was most definitely being asked as if on a loop in her mind.

He took a deep breath, wanting to savor the moment and then he smiled. "You know it. So do you feel like telling me where you're going in such a hurry? Or do you just want me to slip your jewelry on for you now?"

Why had she missed him again? She was already starting to forget. "Aww, bracelets. You really shouldn't have," she quipped at the sight of cuffs already in his hand.

"I'm waiting. You can tell me here or you can tell me -"

"Last minute Christmas shopping," she half-lied, she was pretty sure there was something she actually had forgotten to get.

"Something wrong with your car?"

"Yeah, actually now that you mention it. It seems it keeps attracting the wrong kind of attention. Or so I thought. Guess it's me you have the crush on instead. How ever will I tell my car?"

He almost laughed. "Wouldn't want to be blamed for Keith not getting his annual holiday ties then. Consider yourself warned. Next time the bracelets are yours."

Veronica just smiled at him and began to head off. But after he had climbed back into the car, she turned back. He was still sitting there with his window down so she decided that if she was dreaming or if she had ended up wishing herself into this world the night before, then she might as well enjoy it before it all turned back into a pumpkin.

"Say, Lamb, are these really your Christmas plans? To harass law abiding citizens all day?"

Yeah, right! He had his Christmas cop movie marathon to look forward to! Instead he just told her, "They might be. But since I don't have a law abiding citizen talking to me, that makes it a little different."

She rolled her eyes in favor of hitting him like she wanted to. Christmas Eve wasn't the time to be arrested for assaulting the sheriff. The sheriff that part of her actually wanted to hug for once. Ten months without him really had been way too damn long. Not to mention had clearly done something to her brain for her to not be walking away already.

"So are you going to let me get on with my day or do you just want to chat?" he asked, wondering why she suddenly looked a million miles away.

"I choose chat," she answered without another thought. "Tell you what, Lamb. How about tonight you bring John McClain and I'll bring Chinese?"

"What?" Exactly how big of a trap was this? Sure she was twenty now, but he wasn't stupid.

"Dad likes to go to bed early on Christmas Eve in the hope I'll still believe in Santa. Meanwhile you're kind of a cliché bachelor who loves Die Hard, especially at Christmas. So unless you'd rather pay for your potential previous plans, I'll be at your place by ten with food for us both."

That time Lamb was left dumbfounded as she strode away. Since when did she want to spend Christmas Eve with him? And offer to buy dinner? Okay, her wanting to root around in his apartment wouldn't be a surprise, but she hadn't done it yet to his knowledge so why would she do it with him there? Was she looking to get back at an 09'er boyfriend? He decided then he didn't care if that last one was it. Christmas Eve with Veronica Mars? He knew he could do worse. And originally he likely would have been.

Veronica knew it was a little unlike her to basically force her presence on Lamb. Usually it was the other way around. But that was just it. So far none of this seemed typical, though none of this seemed to be a dream either. She could kid herself, but her dreams didn't work like this. And what she had told him wasn't a lie. Her dad really did try to preserve the illusion that Santa was real for her.

And speaking of real, even if she couldn't believe it, it seemed she had basically gotten her wish from the night before. Lamb was there. He was alive. And for all she knew that February day had never happened in this version of her world. As for what else had changed, she decided she could deal with that later. She had seen enough cheesy Christmas movies to know what was supposed to come next.

She knew she'd had a choice to make. She either could have gone on like she had before with Lamb and possibly end up reliving that whole damn year all over again, complete with leaving him thinking she hated him. Or she could find a way to prove to him, hopefully without having to say the actual words, that she would miss him if anything happened to him.

Maybe part of her would never forgive him for that other long ago day, but that didn't change what all had changed between them since. She had really felt that she had been so close to getting her old friend back just before he was killed. And if she had a chance of getting said friend back again, she wanted to take it. Even better if she could keep him around for a good, long while afterwards.

At 9:45 Lamb glanced around his living room again, knowing it was likely his last chance to hide anything Veronica might find of interest if she really showed up. Laptop and off duty gun? Bedroom. His phone and wallet? On him. He was just glad he didn't have to clean for the occasion, score one for his inner neat freak.

He really didn't know what had brought this on and though he didn't want to think about it, as the moments led up to her arrival he couldn't seem to do anything but. Was she just that desperate for company? Was she going to try to use this against him later? Was it just to mock him for not having any other plans? Was she planning to set him up for something? Or did she genuinely want to spend Christmas Eve watching movies with him?

"Special delivery for Neptune's second finest!" Veronica called out a few minutes later, her hands too full to knock on his door.

Without any more time to obsess about it, Lamb went and opened the door for her, and quickly moved out of the way when he saw the two very full bags of food in her hands. Man, the wafting aromas of it was already mouth watering.

"Coffee table good enough?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah," he nodded, still too stunned that she was really there to offer to help her. Though that worked out in his mind, no need proving to her that he could be chivalrous when he felt like it too soon.

"Ahh," she sighed as she plopped down on the sofa. "Okay, not sure why, but they gave us sporks instead of chopsticks. So if you want to get us some drinks we can get this party started."

"Water or soda, take your pick."

"Like you don't have beer?"

"I do, for myself. As for you, it's water or soda for another year."

She sighed. So much for him wanting to enable minors. "Water, unless it's tap."

In a minute he was bringing over a bottled water for both of them, deciding to hold off on his beer for a while. Something told him he wanted to be sober for this. When he took his seat beside her to see the food all laid out in their containers, he grabbed the remote and started the DVD.

"Is this really your Christmas standard every year? Home, alone with Die Hard?" Veronica asked him, almost beginning to feel some semblance of sorry for him.

"Almost sounds like you care," he said with a glance over to her.

"I brought food, didn't I? And I don't know about you, but so far I haven't heard me complain about the shoot 'em up Christmas movie," she shot back.

"It's only the opening credits."

"Your point?" she grinned.

"The night is young," he smirked.

Only over the course of the next hour, Veronica got to do what she loved best, she was getting to prove Lamb wrong. They had finished their respective dinners, even down to their fortune cookies, and were continuing to enjoy the movie. Now Veronica hadn't planned on practically snuggling with her favorite nemesis as she settled against his side, but damn he was comfy when he wasn't wearing metal.

As for Lamb, who was he to complain? If she actually wanted to watch the movie like this then so be it. Hey, his fortune from the cookie had been about embracing changes as they came, no time like the present to start.

It was midnight when they finished the movie and Lamb looked to Veronica who was still nestled against his side and asked, "You want to get started on Lethal Weapon or do you want another drink or something first?"

"I want to," she admitted as she began to sit up and stretch a bit. "But if I do you know we'll just crash sooner or later and then my dad's likely to find out where I've been tonight and I don't think you want that any more than I do."

She was surprised at her own truth, but it was also true that she knew better than to take him up on his offer. Sure her spending the night there would likely end up being the platonic sort of falling asleep on the sofa during the movie, but it would still be pretty uncomfortable to explain to her father when he asked why she wasn't at the apartment first thing Christmas morning.

"Maybe we could make this yearly thing. Since you seemed so concerned about my standard plans. Or maybe even weekly?" He'd had fun tonight. Seeing Veronica actually wanting to spend time with him, playfully snarking with him as opposed to meaning it when she insulted him. It was becoming a nice change. One of those changes he was willing to embrace.

"Yeah, I wish," she replied even as she stood from his sofa, still unable to completely believe them sharing another movie night could happen.

After he walked her to his door, neither of them fully sure what brought that on either, they said their goodnights. But not before Lamb once again tried to get Veronica to agree to come back over the following week. He only smiled when she reminded him that it would be New Year's Eve.

She left him with a smirk and a, "Maybe," that she tossed over her shoulder.

Lying in her own bed just a half an hour later, Veronica thought back to her own fortune from her earlier cookie. It just happened to have been about not taking those in her life for granted. She knew she typically didn't as a rule, knowing how quickly some people had come and gone throughout her life. But Lamb had definitely been someone that she had taken for granted in the past. Ironically because she had thought her life would be better without him. Now here she was, part of her not even wanting to go to sleep for fear she would wake up and all of this would be gone. That she would wake up and her father would be in Arizona and Lamb… well, not among the living.

By 3 A.M. she was too exhausted to fight any longer and knew she had to take her chances. But just before she drifted off, she remembered what she had said earlier. Her wish. She wondered if whoever had heard her the night before was listening then. Would it mean things would stay the same? Was this her world now? It worked in the movies she had seen, that once the main character learned their lesson they would get to keep the happiness they had found. Not that anyone would mistake Neptune for one of those towns, but she could hope.

When she woke up to the sunlight streaming into her room, the first thing Veronica did was glance all around. Once again everything was the same, she didn't even know what she was looking for but she just wanted something to stand out. Instead everything was quiet. Almost too quiet. But then her attention was drawn to the blinking light on her phone signifying she had a message.

It turned out to be from her father, informing her that he was running late at the airport and to not touch a single present until he got back from Arizona.

Arizona. Veronica's heart sank. So much for her wish, she decided. If he was there then Lamb was still gone and everything else had been a dream. And now she was getting to spend Christmas morning completely alone without even being able to open her presents.

She took a seat in the chair and flipped through the channels, practically melting the remote within the next ten minutes when she couldn't find anything to watch that matched her mood. Though somehow the lack of Christmas cop movies was a bit of a relief. The further she put Lamb from her mind the better.

Finally it was even a relief to hear her phone beeping after another half hour. Maybe it was Wallace, or maybe it was her father calling back. Either way, she was hopeful to be able to pass a little more time.

Reading the text, she couldn't stop the smile that spread clear across her face when she saw who it was from.

_12 hrs ago u told me Keith's out of town, you promised we'd finally watch this thing. Bunny slippers or not, I expect u here in 20 mins,_ the text read.

Veronica actually laughed. It was really Lamb, just as pleasant and patient as ever. And it was all the proof she needed to know that the night before really hadn't been a dream after all. And suddenly there was no movie she wanted to see more, no matter how many times she had seen it already.

"You're late," were the first words he said to her when she was finally standing at his door.

"And you have a way with manners," she replied as she moved past him and into his living room.

"Hey," he told her as he swung his door closed with one hand and grabbed hers with the other. "You could've been watching these movies with anybody today, but you chose me. And last I heard you wished it could stay that way. You and me. What kind of guy would I be if I denied a girl her wish, huh?"

Two days ago or a year ago or however long it had been since she had been in the world she had known, the world that Lamb was no longer part of, Veronica couldn't have imagined that her former Deputy Do Wrong would have the ability to almost instantly have her on her tiptoes and kissing him with just those words.

But his words brought her back. They had brought her back to the memory of walking down that lone sidewalk in the cold and staring up at the stars, honestly missing him. Missing everything from his smirk to his snark to even his pigheadedness.

Sure Lamb was surprised at the recent development in their relationship too, but he knew better than to question her. It was Christmas and if she wanted to give him what he wanted most at that moment, then so be it.

As for Veronica, even when they finally did sit down to watch the movie, she knew she would never again doubt the power of a Christmas wish. Having Lamb back as though that February day had never happened was all the proof she needed.

Veronica had always been told she would change the world, she just hadn't had any idea it would be like this. Still, she was happy. Her unintentional Christmas wish had come true and she had a very much alive Sheriff Don Lamb to show for it.

Yeah, she decided, this Christmas rocked.

The End


End file.
